This invention relates to improvements in a load elevator platform for a truck, van or the like.
Elevator platforms have been used for many years for the purposes of raising and lowering a load with respect to the floor of a truck. One such elevator platform is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,170 dated Sept. 27, 1966 and assigned to Diesel Equipment Limited. In this prior patent, the load elevating platform is made from a heavy gauge sheet metal and is heavy in weight. This elevator platform requires a powerful elevating mechanism.
There are many applications where an elevator platform can be used to advantage on vehicles which are designed to carry relatively low-weight loads and in which it is desirable to minimize the weight of the platform in order to reduce the load applied to the vehicle by reason of the platform itself. If, for example, the platform is to be used on a small truck such as a pick-up truck, the weight of the platform could represent a substantial portion of the weight-carrying capacity of the vehicle.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a light-weight elevator platform for a load elevator mechanism for a truck or the like.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a light-weight elevator platform which consists of a frame, a plurality of floor boards and a plurality of support rails which cooperate with one another and with the frame to support the floor boards.